West Ham confirm Parker as boss

Image source, Shutterstock

Scott Parker will once again be in the dugout at the London Stadium, after his Burnley side were beaten 3-2 there last November

West Ham United have confirmed the appointment of former midfielder Scott Parker as their new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

The 46-year-old replaces Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked on Tuesday after the club’s disappointing start to the Championship season.

Parker previously led Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley to promotion from the Championship, but has been out of work since leaving the Clarets in April after their relegation from the Premier League.

He will take charge of the team for the first time on Wednesday when West Ham travel to Cardiff City in the Championship.

West Ham approach Parker after sacking boss Nuno

Green backs ‘proven’ Parker for Hammers job

Pragmatic Parker or a top flight contender?

First-team coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine will assist Parker while his former team-mate Mark Noble will also work closely with him in his role as sporting director.

The club will also make further announcements on the backroom team in the coming days and weeks.

“It is a very proud moment for me to step into this role and return to a club that means so much to me and my family,” Parker told the club website., external

“There was a warmth, a love, a feeling that I probably didn’t have anywhere else. There was something which stood out constantly and that was the relationship that I built up with the fanbase here. That rapport and respect, that I felt instantly.

“More than anything, this is an opportunity that I am very excited about. I feel privileged and honoured to be the guy that wants to lead us back to the Premier League and be the head coach of this football club at this moment in time.

“My energy levels, my enthusiasm, my desire, my passion – it’s absolutely running through and that’s the feeling I had as soon as there was a conversation that this was possible. That’s exactly why I’m here and why I want to be here.”

‘I’ve got out of this division three times’

Parker quickly became the front-runner for the job after the sacking of Nuno, which followed back-to-back home defeats by Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

He becomes West Ham’s fourth permanent manager since David Moyes left London Stadium in May 2024, and joins with the pre-season promotion favourites sitting eighth in the Championship table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough.

“From my first calls with Karim [Virani, interim chief executive] and Daniel [Kretinsky, largest shareholder], it was clear they have a shared vision and desire to return the club to the Premier League as quickly as possible. I share that ambition and I’m very confident we can achieve it,” he added.

“I’ve been in this division three times and I’ve got out of this division three times. This is a tough division, there is absolutely no denying it.

“I will use every ounce of my experience, every ounce of my knowledge, to have an understanding of what we’re going to need to bring consistency.”

Image source, Shutterstock

West Ham have lost their past two games at home

He joins a club that has had a stuttering start to life in the Championship after relegation last season.

They have won two of their past six games and have lost back-to-back home matches – going down 3-2 to Southampton and then 3-1 to West Brom on Saturday – losses that have seen them drop down from second place.

The departures of players including Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville, El Hadji Malick Diouf, James Ward-Prowse and Freddie Potts secured the club about £150m in transfer revenue over the summer following their relegation.

They used some of that cash to pay Celtic a Championship record £22m for midfielder Arne Engels and spent a reported £12m on Norwegian winger Edvin Austbo.

Experienced campaigners Joel Veltman and Manor Solomon also joined on free transfers from Brighton and Tottenham respectively while they kept key players such as England winger Jarrod Bowen, Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek and Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos.

It is a squad that Parker needs to galvanise if the 2023 Uefa Europa Conference League winners are to return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

“He is someone who is held in high regard at West Ham United and throughout the game, and he was the unanimous choice of the board to become our new head coach,” Virani said.

“He has fantastic experience and pedigree across an outstanding playing and coaching career, a clear and proven track record of success as a head coach in the EFL Championship, and a deep understanding of West Ham United, its identity and our loyal and passionate fanbase.

“We believe that all of these factors together make him the right man to lead us forward and help the club to achieve our objectives this season and beyond.

“Scott has the complete support of everyone here and, from the conversations we have had with him already, we believe he will represent West Ham United and our supporters in a way that we can all be extremely proud of.”

Related topics

More on this story

Latest West Ham news, analysis and fan views

Ask about West Ham – what do you want to know?